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In my youth a book arrived on the shelves of bookstores (back when there were actually shelves).

Carl Menninger wrote convincingly about the topic, “Whatever happened to sin?”  His thesis was that we had disregarded the matter of trespassing on sacred ground.  I suppose in the end, anarchy would be the result.

Until now, I thought we were still dealing with that thesis.

I’m not so sure any more.

We’re not even sure what sacred ground is anymore.

Until there is a place where we can say that something is sacred, we cannot say that there is sin.  The greatest eraser of a society is the brush that finally lets nothing be sacred and all things common.  In that case, the society reverts to individuals and the individual’s own sense of priority.  In which case anarchy arises.

So, what is sacred today?  If we boil it down to our own God within us, we will soon end our society in chaos and confusion.  If we boil it down to a group of people, the group will become fearful of outside influences and will implode. 

I guess we need a sacred that is outside of humanity in order to have a society that is peaceful.  Perhaps Christmas has something to do with that?

Friday and Saturday were spent going to, arriving in, returning from Calgary.

On the way I talked with some people about Rural Churches – initiatives, curriculum tracks and just the stuff that you encounter in a rural church.

Arriving in, we said “hi” to a relative and found out they were friends with some of our “on the way” people.

While in, I attended the launch of the Flourishing Congregations Institute at Ambrose University.  Accidentally I sat with a friend at the speakers table.  Good conversation throughout the day.  My wife met with three of our children throughout the day.

Returning from, we went directly to bed – church was the next day and we were on worship team.  For lunch, we ate with friends – whom I performed their wedding almost 40 years ago.  They are off to the south for a month, escaping the snow that is sure to fall in the next month!

And that was our weekend.  Short, sweet and sure to be remembered.

Today feels like yesterday.  And yesterday I felt like Friday was tomorrow.

Some days we just don’t know what day we are in.  Yes, we can tell if the day is cloudy, sunny, windy or rainy (or even if a blizzard is happening).  We can look at the clock and see what time it is.  We can even have a calendar shown to us.

And we still think today is tomorrow. 

I suppose part of that is anticipation.  We want to be there now!  Christmas as a child was just one of those days.

I suppose part of that is inactivity.  When one day blends into the next, we soon lose sight of what comes next.

Or maybe I’m just getting old???

I love to sing.  I love music.  I love the spirit of the music.

Over the years, notation of music has helped us understand an era, and that era’s expressions of emotions, feelings and love. 

I watched my mother sing the songs of her era.  Those that deeply touched her soul were sung with eyes closed.  Her voice reflected the spirit of the song. 

I’m not sure we can always notate what happens in the spirit.  We can find ways to describe the tempo, the mood, the timbre of voice.  Somewhere along the way, we have not yet been able to capture the spirit in print. 

An actor will move into the role of their character, as outlined in the script.  This method allows them to try to touch the spirit.  A truly good actor runs the periphery of the character with ease.  When there is no longer an act, but a sense of the presence of the character, then there is a great actor.

These artistic expressions, in music and acting, cannot be attained by notes or words or even videos.  We know that a culture is truly dead when no one can exact the spirit of that culture from within their own beings.  Yes, they can imitate, they can fashion a look that images the original – but the spirit and the letter are two different things.